breathe
by call.me.clueless
Summary: Anthology - Rome wasn't built in a day. It took years of planning, building, and growing. Just like them. Hinata/Naruto
1. For Better, For Good

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Title: For Better, For Good

Prompt: change

Summary: Hinata is trying to salvage her relationship with Naruto after six years of being together. She has to try to cope with the changes that have taken place over the course of their relationship, both his and hers. It's easier said than done. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day, but maybe seven.

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Day 1:

"I love you," She whispered, her stutter long forgotten. Her cold hand gripped his always warm one, squeezing it gently.

Six years had passed since she had gotten over her problem. Six years had passed since she had been dating the love of her life. Six years was seventy-two months, two thousand one hundred ninety days, eight thousand seven hundred sixty-six hours, thirty-one million five hundred fifty-six thousand nine hundred twenty-six seconds. Six years was a lot of time for things to change.

"I know," He mumbled, pulling his hand away. His eyes were glazed over and he smelled of old sake. He moved forward, without her, and made his way back to his office. The soft_ click_ of the door seemed to echo around her, a bitter reminder of just how much everything had changed.

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Day 2:

"You've done so many great things, you know," She says, staring at him curiously over the edge of her glass. She sipped the black coffee, waiting for a response. She received none and took the opportunity to continue, trying to get him to talk, "You saved the village after the war, for starters. Of course, being Hokage is an impressive feat as well,"

He merely grunted before rising from his seat. His cerulean eyes met hers, piercing and cold and filled with so much hurt. He blinked suddenly, breaking their connection, and walked back towards his office. She knew that he would not be coming back any time soon.

In the beginning, he was constantly at her side, making sure she was okay and had everything that she needed before he had to leave for another meeting. Now, he rarely said two words to her. Things had certainly not changed for the better.

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Day 3:

"I'm trying, Naruto. I'm trying so hard to keep this together. I-I can't do t-this alone," She breathed out, trying to mask the waterfall of tears that were sure to come. She had stuttered for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. He knew it and she knew it. It was only at the sound of the stutters that he lifted his head up from his work. He set down his glass, naturally filled with sake, and stared with wide eyes.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here," He spoke gently, understanding the fragile state that she was in. He tried to put on the semblance of a smile, just for her. Perhaps for old times sake. Perhaps because he felt sorry, sorry for the pain he had caused her, for the nights he had not come home, for ignoring her for almost their entire relationship.

"I see nothing," She whispered through clenched teeth.

This time, he would watch her walk away.

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Day 4:

"We can't keep doing this. I can't live like this anymore. I've thought about it, and I think we need to end…whatever this is," She spoke, inching closer to his desk. He always seemed to be there, she noted, constantly working. She supposed she could have done worse as far as soulmates go. He was hard working, a bit stubborn, and one of the greatest ninja the world has ever seen. Naturally, she still thought of him as her soulmate, but this depression period was too much for her to handle on her own. She knew that Sasuke's death had taken a toll on him, on their team, on all of the Rookie 9. She knew all too well.

She stood before his desk, yearning for him to raise his head and look her in the eyes before she went on her way. If only, she thought. She pulled the orange key from her pocket and dropped in onto his stack of papers. She didn't see the way his eyes widened substantially, or even notice his breathing hitch.

"Goodbye," She whispered, turning on her heel. He stared numbly after her, slumped in his chair as a million thoughts raced through his mind.

What had he done?

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Day 5:

He pounded on the door, begging for someone, anyone to answer. He maybe only had one chance at this before Neji tried to kill him again. "Hello? Hello! Hinata, please, open the door! I know you're here! Please!" He pounded again on the door, his hand become red from the force he used. Granted, he could just have found a window and used that entrance, or simply smashed the door in two, promising to replace it later. This was neither the time nor the place for that. He needed to let Hinata know that he hadn't given up just yet. He wanted her to know that he would respect her wishes, if that was what she really wanted. But even more than all of that, he wanted her to know that he still loved her.

He would search high and low for her. There were, after all, only so many places that should would go in Konoha.

After twenty minutes of no answer, he sighed. He took a seat at the base of the door, prepared to stay there all night if he had too. His resolve, his determination was at a height that he hadn't reached in years. He knew that he had changed after the war; it was hard not to notice the changes occur. He became more withdrawn, hardly speaking, and resorted to working nonstop to satisfy whatever feelings he wanted to smother and lock away. He recognized his changes right away, but continued to live in such a way that practically defied his nature.

He thought he had lost the majority of his friends in the war, but now, the thought of losing Hinata seemed unbearable.

Somehow, someway, he would make things right again.

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Day 6:

She pulled the curtain back, watching him pace back and forth in front of the door. She knew that he had debated countless times on pounding on the door again. He knew that she was there. Oddly enough, they both knew why.

"Is he still here?" Tenten asked, putting her feet up on the couch as she sprawled out to get more comfortable.

"He never left," Hinata said, more to herself than to her friend. She pushed the curtain back and ran a hand through her hair. She knew that he had been there since he had arrived the previous morning. She knew how hungry, how exhausted he must be. She was the same way, after all, because after she had ended their relationship she couldn't bring herself to eat or sleep. There simply wasn't a need too.

She had heard Naruto outside the night before, muttering something to himself. They could have been words of his innermost thoughts, his dreams, his fears, anything. She was hoping they were an apology, but didn't dwell on that thought for too long. She stayed up with him for hours, listening to him mumble, but it was comforting nonetheless. He was talking. For the first time in years, he was saying more than five or six words at once.

"Hinata," Tenten began, "You should-"

"I know," She whispered, cutting her off. She rubbed her eyes, the black bags under them growing darker by the hour. Actually, she had no idea what she should do at that point. She knew he was her soulmate, but there was only so much that she could do for him before it became too much of a one way street.

Staring at the window, she sat in thought, pondering an endless sea of possibilities.

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Day 7:

"I'm an idiot."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"Sometimes, that isn't enough, you know."

"I'm trying to be better. I'm trying to be good. For you, Hinata."

"Will that really fix this?"

"I'm willing to try if you are."

She paused, deep in thought. There were many pros and cons to the situation, but given who she was speaking with, she knew her answer before he had even spoken. "Okay," She mumbled, raising her head to meet his wary gaze.

"Okay? Okay!" He repeated, a grin, which had not been seen by Hinata in months, spreading across his face. He jumped for joy, pulling a startled Hinata into a bone-crushing hug. Her squeals mixed with his laughter, a medley that hadn't been heard in a long time. Once he put her down, he gripped her hand, squeezing lightly.

"Okay," She said again breathlessly. They both smiled.

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A/N: NEJI SHOULD LIVE DAMNIT. So, in this world, just for today, Neji lives and Sasuke died. I hope you all enjoyed this! It just popped into my head one day and I decided to start working on it. This will be a random drabble series so none of the chapters will be connected unless specifically stated. Don't be too concerned if the character end up a little OOC; it's just how I end up writing them. This was a little angst-y to start the series off, but I really liked how it turned out. Let me know what you think!


	2. Home

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

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Title: Home

Prompt: "Home" by Phillip Phillips and "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Highly recommend these songs.

Summary: Naruto has been away from the village constantly while trying to gain more connections in order to better prepare himself when he becomes Hokage. When he returns, he realizes just how much his home means to him.

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He stumbles, weary and tired after another long and treacherous journey. He glances to his right and sees two of his best friends, his teammates, stumbling along with him. Team Seven had been reunited years ago, but every time he sees them, he is reassured that all of those years of fighting and yearning and waiting and _finallyfinallyfinally_ it was all worth it. The corners of his lips turn up in a small smile as he watches them lean on each other for support. He has known there has been something between the pair of them for quite some time, but decides not the bring it up at this point. Instead, he focuses the little energy he has left trudging towards the Hokage tower. He tells his two comrades not to worry and that he will tell Tsunade of their return and is off in a matter of seconds.

He rushes through the village, feet tapping lightly against the shingled roofs of various buildings as he reaches his destination in a short amount of time. He bursts through her office as he has done numerous times before, only to be chastised for doing so. It was routine, he thinks as he smiles slyly at the older woman while she pelts him with one medical book after another. Even though she normally yells at him, Naruto admires her. It's time like these, when he returns from a mission or other diplomatic business and she does nothing but yells, that he truly believes that nothing has changed. He knows that he is no longer a teenager and, even with her anti-aging jutsu, she is no longer the fighter she once was. To him, that doesn't matter in the slightest.

After relaying the news to the slightly angered and possibly tipsy Tsunade, Naruto heads to his last stop of the day. His feet seem to move of their own accord, having memorized the path from the years of walking and running home. He arrives at the compound with a sigh. He raises his hand to the door and carefully pulls it open. His eyes shift from the ground to the woman who has come to greet him.

"Welcome home, Naruto," She speaks, a smile on her face. In her arms, cradled and protected, is their little bundle of joy born not four months ago. He beams at the pair of them.

"Welcome home, indeed,"

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NOTES. This was just a little drabble that popped into my head one afternoon. Since "breathe" is an anthology, I figured hey, why not? As always, I hope you enjoyed and ask that you leave and review/PM me for some criticism or to tell me how I'm doing with this. Look for the next installment soon!

.clueless.


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